American Athletic Conference October Hoops Recruiting Roundup

Patrick Engel

10/29/2015

Patrick takes a look back on October in his AAC Hoops Recruiting Roundup.

With signing day less than three weeks away, teams are finalizing their classes for the early signing period. American Athletic Conference teams picked up five commits in October, and now every team in the league has at least one commit. Seventy-seven members of the Scout top 100 have made their college choices already, 10 of them in October. Here’s where the AAC’s recruiting classes stand as the early signing period approaches.

October roundup: This went undetected before, but Tulsa actually lost a commit. According to a tweet from Kevin Hiatt of BroncoCountry.com (Scout’s Boise State site), Germantown (Tenn.) three-star point guard Darrell Brown Jr. decommitted in August.

Other 2016 offers/targets: Tulsa now has a little more space but would still be wise to land another point guard and a big man or two. It recently offered Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg wing Davion Mintz and hosted Dothan (Ala.) power forward Kevin Morris on an official in early October, but he didn’t pull the trigger and commit. A couple wings with offers went elsewhere: Lancaster (Texas) wing Jacolby Pemberton committed to Louisiana Tech, while Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa C.C. wing Jarrid Rhodes opted for Missouri State. Victory Rock Prep (Fla.) center Gorjok Gak has held a Tulsa offer for a few months but has not mentioned scheduling a visit. College of Southern Idaho power forward Eugene Artison and Red Oak (Texas) forward/center Adrean Johnson still bear watching, as does Morris.

October roundup: Connecticut vaulted to fourth in the Scout class rankings with the Oct. 16 commitment of Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep wing Vance Jackson. The No. 63 player in the class, Jackson is a former high school teammate of current Husky Daniel Hamilton. Jackson is a hybrid forward like Hamilton, but with a great three-point shot and range to boot. He’s not a shot creator or the best defender, but he has plus size for a wing and could play the four as well. He held offers from Arizona, California, Gonzaga, Maryland, Memphis, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Washington and Washington State.

Other 2016 offers/targets: The Huskies have space to take one more, but they are likely done for now. They will look to fill that last spot in the late period or with a transfer. Former VCU wing and top-100 recruit Terry Larrier will be eligible next year after sitting this upcoming season due to transfer rules.

Other 2016 offers/targets: The Bulls landed Fitts after a quiet August and September and now have just one spot left in the class. They hosted Victory Rock Prep (Fla.) center Khadim Gueye on an official visit the weekend of Oct. 23, per Hoopseen.com’s Corey Evans. He could be the final piece.

Tulane: three commits

October roundup: Tulane added commit number three on Oct. 6 when San Diego Mission Bay point guard Justin Moore pledged after an official visit a few days earlier. The 6-foot-3 170-pound Moore is a three-star recruit who passes well but also averaged nearly 19 points per game during his junior season. Moore told Andrew Lopez of The Times-Picayune (La.) that he was planning to take officials to DePaul, Miami (Fla.) and Nevada, but will not anymore.

Other 2016 offers/targets: Cincinnati has been pretty quiet, although it would still do well to add a point guard. Manhassett (N.Y.) St. Mary’s point guard Devonte Green is still available and has been on the team’s radar for a while. Hutchinson C.C. (Kan.) wing Bashir Ahmed would bring more backcourt help and has visited already.

Other 2016 offers/targets: The class needs a big man or two. Gastonia (N.C.) Ashbrook power forward Isaiah Whaley has been a target for a little while and just grabbed a Providence offer. ECU offered Chesire Academy (Conn.) guard Elijah Pemberton in early October, but he committed to Hofstra. Chicago Simeon wing Ben Coupet has held an ECU offer since the spring and is still available. Indian Hills C.C. wing Jerrelle DeBerry is uncommitted and was offered over the summer.

Other 2016 offers/targets: Houston has plenty of space left but seems like will wait until the spring to completely fill the class. A couple players with Houston offers went elsewhere: Campti (La.) power forward Adrio Bailey committed to Arkansas and Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) wing Tim Cameron picked UTEP.

Other 2016 offers/targets: Big men are the priority now. Brewster Academy (N.J.) four-star power forward Taurean Thompson (No. 90 overall), Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) four-star center Sedee Keita and Danish forward/center Marinus Mouboe are three targets. Temple has enough room to take all three if they were to all commit, but that’s highly unlikely.

October roundup: SMU landed its first commit post-NCAA sanctions much faster than most expected. Assistant coach Tim Jankovich did some heavy lifting and landed Australian guard Tom Wilson on Oct. 21. Wilson visited in early October and picked SMU over Boise State, Cal, Gonzaga and UConn. The 6-foot-4 Wilson can play multiple backcourt positions but is a natural point guard who can shoot. He was also captain of both the Australian U17 and U19 teams in the FIBA World Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Other 2016 offers/targets: SMU will turn its attention toward big men to finish out the class. The two main targets are Australian power forward Harry Froling and Montverde Academy (Fla.) center Bruno Fernando. Both are four-star prospects, with Fernando ranked as the 100th overall player in the country. Froling and Wilson are close friends and Froling’s sisters play for SMU’s women’s basketball team.

October roundup: Memphis finally got on the board when Southwest Tennessee C.C. forward Jimario Rivers committed on Oct. 7, four days after an official visit. The Memphis native is 6-foot-8 and 195 pounds and is a combo forward. He averaged 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds for SWTCC last season and also held offers from Ole Miss, Marquette, Missouri, Arkansas and Auburn, according to Jason Smith of The Commercial-Appeal (Tenn.) Memphis also added former 2015 Texas A&M signee Raquan Mitchell on Oct. 15. A very late bloomer, Mitchell signed with the Aggies in August but never enrolled. Smith reports that the former Miami Southridge star doesn’t yet know if he can join the team immediately or if he has to wait until December. Mitchell was a three-star prospect and considered Tulane, Arkansas, Bowling Green and Florida State before he originally picked Texas A&M, he told Scout’s Evan Daniels.

2016 offers/targets: Josh Pastner missed on his biggest target when Arlington (Tenn.) Bolton point guard Jaylen Fisher (No. 81 overall) committed to UNLV Oct. 7. Starkville (Miss.) combo guard Tyson Carter (79th overall) visited Sept. 18 but committed to Mississippi State on Oct. 27. However, Chicago Morgan Park point guard Charlie Moore (No. 62 overall) visited Oct. 2 and appears to be the Tigers best option at point guard, a big position of need. Fisher, Carter and Moore are all four-star prospects. Memphis has space for three to four more players, but the class likely won’t be filled until the spring.